Proposal to transfer inmates for fair polls

Twenty-five inmates at Khudiram Bose Memorial Central Jail are likely to be shifted to Bhagalpur for six months to ensure that they do not hamper the election process.

The prisoners would be shifted to the Bhagalpur Central Jail. The district administration is mulling the transfer on grounds of the Lok Sabha elections in Muzaffarpur and Vaishali constituencies.

Senior superintendent of police Saurav Kumar mooted the plan on Friday to avoid the criminals from getting involved in the election process with the help of their accomplices outside the jail.

He has sought a detailed report from the police station house officers (SHOs) in the district to make a recommendation for shifting the inmates. “This is part of the preparations to conduct peaceful elections. I would go through the reports furnished by the SHOs and then make necessary recommendations for shifting the prisoners to Bhagalpur,” said Saurav.

Among the prisoners to be shifted are 14 Maoists, including area commander, sub-zonal committee, Muzaffarpur-Vaishali, Rohit Kumar and central committee member Ram Pravesh Baitha. They have been kept in the terrorists’ cell.

Khudiram Bose Memorial Central Jail superintendent Jitendra Kumar said: “Internal and external security arrangements at the jail have been beefed up. The deployment of 32 Bihar Military Police personnel has also been sought to ensure internal security at the jail.”

He added that the cells and wards of the prisoners are being searched twice a day.